But that doesn’t mean he has an undisputed claim to the Tea Party vote should he run for the Republican Presidential nomination. And with as many as 28 percent of adult voters identifying as Tea Party Activists according to a 2010 Gallup poll, that conservative support could be crucial.

Perry’s Tea Party Credentials

Perry has referred to the movement’s members as “patriots” in the past, and The New York Times reports that in a voice vote taken recently among 100 tea party leaders gathered in Washington the still undeclared Perry emerged as a popular pick for president, coming in behind declared candidate Michele Bachmann and alongside Ron Paul.

Even better for Perry, the Christian Science Monitor reported that among a group of 160 tea party supporters gathered in Washington Perry was chosen as the favorite — ahead of Bachmann and Paul — in a show-of-hands vote.

Perry is also a fiscally conservative governor whose policies are in-line with the movement’s ideals. Texas has no state income tax and despite a dragging national economy the state legislature passed in May a two-year budget with no tax increases that leaves billions untouched in the state’s rainy day fund, primarily through spending cuts.

While Amy Kremer, the chairman of Tea Party Express, said the organization doesn’t endorse any single candidate, she said it is looking for a strong leader who has a history of opposing government spending and taxation.

“We are focused on getting the economy back on track,” Kremer said. “We want someone with the backbone to take on these issues.”

Though Kremer said Tea Party leadership focuses on economic issues, the movements’ membership tends to lean conservative.

According to a 2010 Gallup poll, nearly half of the 28 percent of American adults who identify themselves as tea party supporters are Republican, and 43 percent identify Independent. Only 8 percent identified as Democrats.

And a 2010 New York Times/CBS poll found that tea party supporters generally hold more conservative views than Republicans in general, including in their opposition to gay marriage and abortion.

That could bode well for Perry, who supports a federal constitutional amendment to prevent same-sex marriage and believes abortion should only be legal in cases of rape, incest or when necessary for maternal health.

But Perry isn’t the only potential candidate who shares a history with the party and represents its values — declared candidates Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul and Herman Cain have all rallied around fiscal conservatism and could win Tea Party votes.

Ron Paul and monetary policy

In such a tight pool, Stephen Wayne, a government professor at Georgetown University, said it would be candidates’ differences — not policy similarities — that would set them apart.

“They differ on experience and election viability,” Wayne said in an email.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, a favorite of libertarian Tea Party loyalists, is unique in his desire to eliminate the Federal Reserve, and he has aggressively pushed for an audit of all Fed operations. Bachmann and Perry have also criticize the Fed, but Cain says can be fixed. Paul also wants to return to the gold standard.

Kramer said the Tea Party holds no official stance on the Federal Reserve’s elimination or the gold standard, but is looking for a smaller government hand in the economy.

Meanwhile, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has been a Tea Party champion from the outset — she hosted the first Tea Party Caucus meeting in July 2010 to give activists an outlet to Congress. She has strong support among the social conservatives in the Tea Party movement.

And while Herman Cain, former CEO of Godfather Pizza, lacks government experience, he has said his business expertise gives him on-the-ground perspective of how the economy should work. He appeals to the anti-Washington fervor of many Tea Partiers.

Cain separates himself from Paul and Bachmann through his vocal support of American military intervention abroad.

“You don’t throw your friends under the bus,” Cain said in his first campaign video.

In contrast, Paul openly opposes U.S. military intervention in other nations. Bachmann has been harshly critical of the president’s intervention in Libya, suggesting that anti-government Libyan rebels include members of the al Qaeda terrorist network.

Some Tea Party groups oppose interventionism, but others believe international engagement was a part of the founding fathers’ plan for the country.

Despite his support for sanctuary cities, Perry is relatively lax on immigration compared to his competition. He has said that Arizona’s controversial immigration policy, which Bachmann has praised, wouldn’t work for Texas.

Paul, on the other hand, takes an especially hard line on immigration, supporting an end to birthright citizenship and calling for comprehensive reform.

Sarah Palin, though currently undeclared, could also shake up the Tea Party vote should she enter the race. She has called the movement a “ground-up call to action that is forcing both parties to change the way they are doing business.”

Paul opposes amnesty and wants to end birthright citizenship, which allows people born in the U.S. automatic citizenship. He has said he has “some reservations” about the Arizona law, but supports its intent.

Cain has said the U.S. must secure the borders, enforce existing laws and promote the current path to citizenship. He has said, “I don’t believe Arizona went to far.”

Foreign Policy

Perry opposed plans by pro-Palestinian groups to protest and potentially disrupt Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, and he earlier criticized President Obama’s speech advocating a deal between the warring sides based on pre-1967 maps.

Bachmann has said she supports Israel. She posted Web ad accusing that President Obama “betrayed Israel” with his statement on the 1967 boundaries.

Paul wants to see rapid troop withdrawl from the Middle East and isolationism. He has called for American neutrality in regard to Israel’s conflicts.

Cain believes the U.S. should intervene on behalf of its allies. “You mess with Israel, you’re messing with the U.S.A, ” he said to to Neil Cavuto on Fox News in May.

Economy

In Fed Up! Perry suggests major cuts to federal spending and a decreased role of the national government in state governments. He is a longtime proponent of low taxes and spoke in favor of extending Bush-era tax cuts in 2010.

Paul’s website calls for abolishing the Federal Reserve, returning to the gold standard. His Congressional website says he is for “low taxes, free markets, and a return to sound monetary policies.”

Cain has called for a simplified tax code, has said he would allow for a one year payroll tax holiday to spur the economy and wants to make the Bush-era tax rates permanent.

Same-sex marriage

Perry has said he would support an amendment to ban same-sex marriage, but in Fed Up! says gay marriage decisions should be left to the states.

Bachmann supports an amendment to the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.

Paul opposes all federal efforts to define marriage and says the states should decide. He voted against an amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Cain opposes same-sex marriage, but doesn’t rule out civil unions and he opposes an amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Abortion

Perry is pro-life and opposes government funding for abortions. He signed into law a 2011 Texas bill requiring women to have a sonogram before having an abortion, but excepting cases of rape and incest.

Bachmann is Pro-life in all cases, including rape and incest.

Paul is strongly pro-life, despite his libertarian ideals. He has said, “If you can’t protect life, how can you protect liberty?”

Cain thinks abortion should be illegal except in cases affecting the mother’s health, and has said he is “pro-life from conception.”